


You've Got Time

by why_didnt_i_get_any_soup



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Christmas, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hanukkah, Hurt/Comfort, Jewish Character, Jewish Stiles Stilinski, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-19
Updated: 2016-12-19
Packaged: 2018-09-09 18:28:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8907241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/why_didnt_i_get_any_soup/pseuds/why_didnt_i_get_any_soup
Summary: Stiles is nervous to come back home after his first semester at college





	

“I’m not sure I even really want to go home.” Stiles admitted to Lydia.

  
“Come on, Stiles. It’s your first Christmas since you’ve been away from home. You have so many years ahead of you to make up convenient excuses not to show up for the holidays.”

  
“God. You’re right.”

  
“I know.”

  
They talked a little more and finally hung up, saying they would see each other back in Beacon Hills when they got there, giving each other their flight information so they could track the arrivals.

  
When Stiles turned his phone off airplane mode at the gate, he had a text from Lydia. She had gotten in earlier than him so she'd gone ahead to baggage claim and was there waiting at his baggage claim.The sheriff was there to pick them up and was chatting with Lydia and a huge wave of embarrassment hit him. What did your parents say to your friends when you're not around?

  
As he neared, he heard them discussing classes. He sighed with relief and came up to them. The settled into casual conversation as they waited for the belt to produce his luggage and then they were on their way. The airport was a bit from town, about a thirty minute drive, so Stiles tried to keep it light by cranking Christmas tunes and singing horribly to them. Eventually, the sheriff and Lydia joined in.

  
They dropped Lydia off at her mother’s house and then went to their house. It was weird to not see the Jeep in the driveway when they pulled in. He missed the autonomy it afforded him but he didn't miss sinking money and energy into the constant maintenance of the junker. Scott had taken it off his hands to make a thirty minute commute to his community college.

  
Stiles and his father tried to sit and chat like they hadn't seen each other but they both were obviously itching to go their separate ways. They loved each other, sure, but they'd been ruined by the separation and they both knew it. It was going to take work for them to not fight, even if they didn't really want to. It had happened during Thanksgiving but thankfully that had been blissfully short and he’d been more worried about finals than fighting with his dad. This time, he had almost a month to sit around and potentially get in fights. He had a feeling he was going to be spending a lot of time with Lydia, to get him out of the house if nothing else.

  
He was three seconds away from explaining organic chemistry to his the sheriff when he heard the familiar strains of the Jeep’s wheezing engine. Stiles didn't have time to reign in his panicked look that he shot over to his father. Sheriff Stilinski looked surprised and not like he secretly was trying to ambush Stiles with Scott’s presence. He shrugged and they sat in a heavy silence waiting for the inevitable cutting of the engine and the knock on the front door. Someone, somewhere, if it wasn't his dad, had told Scott that Stiles was there. He had a sneaking suspicion he knew who it was too.

  
The knocking at the door was light and polite and had they not be sitting in the living room there was no way they would have heard it. Scott knew the door was unlocked but he knew things were weird and he wasn't going to just burst in. Not like he used to.

  
“It's open!” The sheriff called out.

  
Immediately, the door handle twisted open. Stiles’ stomach twisted, too, as he waited for Scott’s face to appear in the door. He still wasn't ready for it when it happened. He had to look away.

  
“Hello, Stilinskis! Happy holidays, happy Hanukkah!”

  
“Thanks, Scott!” Stiles watched his dad speak, watched the huge grin on his face and he tried not to be too hurt by it but he was. His father knew the situation, knew they had a problem. Though, the sheriff didn't know the specifics.

  
“I guess I'd better leave you two to it.”

  
One thing Stiles had learned in his first semester of college was to keep his mouth closed sometimes. In the past, he would have yelled at his dad, said “what!” or “no!” but he didn't. He didn't even look at Scott. Just stayed put, looked down at his shoes. The sheriff got out of the room, pretty damn quick.

  
“How are you, Stiles?” Scott asked and it was the first time Stiles actually looked Scott in the eyes. He had to be imagining the sadness there.

  
“Not too shabby!” Stiles exclaimed, trying not to seem like he was hurt. He wasn't sure if Scott bought it but it was what it was.

  
“So,” Scott started, moving to sit next to Stiles on the couch, sure the sheriff was out of the room before he spoke, “you let Lydia know when you were getting here but couldn't tell me?”

  
“Well, Lydia is my best friend.” Stiles said, regretting it as it left his mouth. Some things still were difficult to keep in.

  
“So what am I?” Scott looked hurt. Maybe? It was hard to tell. Stiles told himself he was making it up.

  
“Um…” Stiles had no idea how to answer that and was feeling more like a cornered animal.

  
“You don't have to answer that.” Scott said, instead of waiting for him to answer. “I want to show you something.” He said, instead.

  
“What is it?” Stiles tried not to snap but he wasn't sure if he succeeded.

  
“It's something I found after class one day so it's a bit of a drive up north.”

  
“Uh…” Stiles trailed off.

  
“Stiles, please?”

  
And that was it. This was Scott. His best friend for over seven years. How could he really say no? He loved Scott and when it came down to it, he couldn't deny Scott anything. Instead of saying anything, he swallowed and nodded his assent. He stood and moved toward the kitchen.

  
“Let me grab some water. You're driving.” He hoped his tone was light but he couldn't tell. He was exhausted and the thought of being in a car alone with Scott was emotionally exhausting.

  
“Of course.” Scott called out and then they hit the road.

  
Almost thirty minutes into the trip, Stiles realized the Jeep hadn't overheated at all and they'd been doing almost 70 on the interstate the whole time.

  
“How has this thing not overheated?” Stiles asked, incredulous.

  
“I replaced a few coolant tubes and there was a pump thing in there that had blades that were corroded off.”

  
Stiles felt embarrassment wash over his face. “Oh.”

  
“I had the time and money.” Scott shrugged but he took the conversation as a window of opportunity to keep talking. “We’re coming up on the school.”

  
“I've been here before.” Stiles said, trying not to sound snappy but failing.

  
“I know.” Scott said, not letting on that he was hurt. “Just letting you know it's a few more minutes up into the mountains.”

  
“You know there are mountains in Beacon Hills, right?”

  
“Hills, Stiles. They're hills. These are real mountains.”

  
“All right.” Stiles relented, not wanting to fight.

  
They passed the school and turned down a more rural road, already starting to see more evergreens.

  
“You excited you actually get to celebrate Hanukkah this year during the break?” Scott tried to keep conversation going.

  
“I guess? I never worried about it too much. It's not even really a big holiday. I like the chocolate coins though. Latkes are pretty cool too.”

  
“Those are pretty great.”

  
“We really just do the candles and a prayers a night and just one day of presents on the last day and then Christmas anyway. Dad isn't really good with that stuff anyway.”

  
Stilinski, funny enough, was actually Claudia’s last name. But the sheriff had known Judaism was important to her and he wanted Stiles to be in touch with his heritage. He’d actually converted but since Claudia died he didn't bother practicing much anymore since it had been less time that he was than he wasn't. Stiles had grown up with both and came out the other side pretty firmly atheistic. Not that he would tell his dad that.

  
They fell back into silence and Stiles watched out the window as the landscape got more rural and more elevated. His ears popped and Scott slowed down as they started to wind up the mountain roads. Stiles would never admit it but he was pretty afraid of heights and he was getting nervous as they climbed higher. He was glad he wasn't the one driving.

  
Finally, they stopped at a clearing, cut into some trees and next to a sheer cliff face that rose up another twenty or thirty feet from where they parked. It was gravel but Stiles supposed it wasn't too bad.

  
“This is nice I guess.” He said, unbuckling to get more comfortable.

  
“Actually, it's another few minutes that way.” Scott said, pointing to what was now a pretty obvious path.

  
“Oh.”

  
“It's five minutes, tops. I promise.”

  
“Okay.” Stiles said, hopping out of the Jeep. He still couldn't quite believe he had let Scott talk him into driving up there, yet there they were.

  
The walk was really pretty short if a bit steep. Not unmanageable. They made it to the top and it was a nice little clearing, like a picnic spot. There was a view but it wasn't of the town like it was in Beacon Hills. In every direction, they were surrounded by the Sierra Nevada. He had to admit, despite his fear, it was quite beautiful. He turned to say so and found Scott seated on a large rock outcrop.

  
“It is really nice.” He admitted.

  
“Yeah, It is.” Scott was grinning up at the sky. “We can't stay too long, though. It's gonna start getting dark soon. I just wanted to show you this. I come out here sometimes to think or just disconnect I guess. There's no cell service.”

  
That was the first time Stiles had even thought about phones this whole time. He pulled his out and checked. Sure enough, there was no service.

  
“Oh.” He said and slipped it back in his pocket.

  
“I'm sorry, Stiles.” Scott said, now looking down at the dirt.

  
“For what?” Stiles stared him down and he glared back up, implying Stiles knew damn well.  
“This was for the best. You may not realize it yet. I said some things to push you away and I hated do it. You have to know I didn't want to. But I knew you needed to go to your fancy east coast Ivy because it was good for you. You and Lydia. I knew I was the thing keeping you here.”

  
“Fuck.” Stiles tried not to choke the word out but he felt like he was wading through the thickness that comes before tears. He and Scott had gotten into a fight. It had been stupid but it was bitter and it was mean. But now he was feeling manipulated. Scott had said some awful things and they were said just to get him to go to a different school. “Are you kidding?”

  
Scott shook his head. “I knew if you went, if you actually experienced the school, you would see it was right for you, good for you. I don't need to go to a super fancy school. I just need to go to veterinary school. But you needed this school.”

  
“Why didn't you just tell me that? Why didn't you trust me with that? We could have saved each other a lot of heartache.”

  
“I thought it was the only way to get you to go. It was wrong of me to make an assumption. But you were so caught up with The Plan and I just thought you would try to stick around here just because I am.”

  
“I guess we’ll never know.” Stiles admitted, sighing. Finally, he moved to sit next to Scott on the rock.

  
“I really am sorry.” Scott said again, bumping his shoulder against Stiles’.

  
“I'm not going to say it's okay. But I think I do forgive you.” He leaned into Scott.

  
Scott brought an arm up to wrap around Stiles’ shoulders. It was nice. Like nothing had changed.

  
“Thanks for being honest with me.” Stiles said, leaning his head into Scott.

  
“Of course.” Scott squeezed gently. “Stiles?”

  
“Yeah?” Stiles lifted his head up to look over at Scott.

  
“Can I kiss you?”

  
“Yeah, I think I’d like that.”


End file.
